Ottawa County is one of the fastest growing counties in Michigan. As of the United States 2020 Census, the current population is approximately 296,000. In 2016, Ottawa County was also considered the most conservative county in Michigan, having voted Republican in every election since 2000. However, unbeknownst to many residents and despite the election of Republican leaders, Ottawa County was strategically targeted by the progressive left through racial and cultural issues.
A strategic focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) was designed to spread from higher levels of government down through the population. Former Ottawa County Commissioners approved funding for DEI initiatives. This funding supported progressive activist organizations and DEI implementation in municipalities located in Ottawa County, despite the very conservative views and beliefs of the constituency. The slow infiltration remained hidden from most people until it bubbled to the surface beginning in 2019 when powerful, private corporations in Ottawa County began pushing the government to create a DEI office. It became more visible in 2020 when Ottawa County’s Cultural Intelligence Committee, under the purview of the DEI office, released a statement about the existence of systemic racism in Ottawa County.
The Cultural Intelligence Committee also posted videos they categorized as “educational” on the county website that contained progressive views on systemic racism, equity, and implicit bias. Later they were forced to add “disclaimers” to the website stating, “The views and opinions presented on this page do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Ottawa County Commissioners, Ottawa County employees, the DEI Office, or the Cultural Intelligence Committee. Ottawa County reserves the right to add/change the information on this page.” Moreover, the former County Administrator and former Board of Commissioners (BOC) both embraced the transformation. They publicly declared that Ottawa County can be “unwelcoming” to those outside the county citing the majority white and conservative resident demographics. They proclaimed the economic growth of Ottawa County would be threatened if it did not become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive county, despite the indisputable fact that Ottawa County was, and continues to be, the fastest growing county in the state. This article will shed light on the actions taken by Ottawa County government to implement DEI.
Former County Administrator Al Vanderberg is largely credited with bringing DEI to Ottawa County. According to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), “Al Vanderberg, Co-Chair of the Summit on Race and Inclusion Advisory Council, has been involved with the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) since 2004, as a member of the CEO Advisory Committee. Vanderberg’s leadership helped to pave the way toward racial equity training of staff as well as implementation of the organizational systems review.”
Prior to 2012, Ottawa County partnered with the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) to help present the business case for diversity and inclusion to the board of commissioners (BOC) and encourage the BOC to get involved in diversity initiatives. Additionally, LEDA provided diversity training to over 650 county employees. Vandenberg sat on the LEDA CEO Advisory Board with CEOs from many of the largest corporations in the county. He stated in board documents that despite having their own DEI offices, these CEOs made their case loud and clear that a county DEI Department was needed to ensure the ability to attract global talent. Shortly thereafter, the county formed the Cultural Change team (later renamed to Cultural Intelligence Committee) as part of the 4 C’s initiative (customer service, cultural intelligence, creativity, and communication) proposed by Vandenberg and approved by the BOC in January 2013.
Ottawa County obtained a core membership to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) in 2013-2014. GARE core memberships are for jurisdictions (i.e. city or county) and require a commitment to advancing racial equity across all functions and employees, from frontline staff to elected officials. The commitment to advancing equity must be demonstrated via a Racial Equity Plan/Strategic Plan, use of the Racial Equity tools in routine decision making and/or adoption of legislation. Frequent participation by the jurisdiction with the organization network is also required. Furthermore, the county must pay annual dues based on the number of employees which for Ottawa County was $5,000/year.
Between 2014 and 2018 much of the Ottawa County DEI initiatives were centered around workshops and trainings hosted by the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA). Training of county employees focused on implicit bias and racism by exploring “the dimensions of a system of advantage based on race through an analysis of internalized, interpersonal, institutional and structural realities shaping racial inequities today.”
In December 2018, Mr. Vandenberg submitted an action request for establishment of the DEI office to the BOC which was passed by the BOC (page 98). At that time, the county had received $100,730 in cash from Grand Haven Foundations ($80,730) and Mr. Dick Haworth ($20,000) of the Haworth Company. Both requested to provide this initial cash amount in 2018 for tax purposes and the county agreed to honor the request. However, the funding of the DEI office had not yet been approved and this information was not shared with the BOC until the funding vote took place in late February 2019. At the December 2018 meeting, Mr. Vandenberg also presented a summary of funding required for the positions within the DEI office, which was estimated at $1,100,704 over 5 years. The county then planned to provide $631,960 (57% of total) in funding and private sector/non-profit was expected to provide $469,014 (43% of total). Also, the package of documents provided to each commissioner included a letter from Julie Nelson, Senior Vice President of Programs at Race Forward, GARE and Center for Social Inclusion, encouraging the establishment of a Diversity and Inclusion office in Ottawa County.
Two months later in February 2019, Mr. Vandenberg submitted to BOC another action request for funding the DEI office (page 49). The request was to hire a Director of DEI at a cost of $124,961.00 and a Senior Secretary at a cost of $64,478.00 with a 2% increase each year for cost-of-living adjustment, 5% health insurance increase and salary step increases.
Robyn Afrik became the Director of DEI for Ottawa County in June 2019 and was introduced to the BOC at their July meeting. After stepping into the DEI Director role, Afrik was involved in the following activities:
Participated in multiple speaking engagements and conferences, a majority of them happening outside the county/state.
Elected to serve on the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD) Board of Education.
Selected to serve on the Shape Corp. Inclusion Advisory Board
Selected to serve on multiple other boards in both Kent and Ottawa Counties.
Spoke in her professional capacity as the county’s Director of DEI to area school groups/clubs.
In December 2019, Robyn Afrik submitted to BOC an action request to execute a contract with Inclusion Performance Strategies (IPS) and the company’s Founder and CEO, Paul Doyle (pages 57 - 73) to complete a DEI assessment of Ottawa County at the not-to-exceed cost of $30,000. The motion passed. Paul Doyle is also the Chair of the Executive Board for the Grand Rapids American Health Institute (GRAAHI). Grand Rapids African American Health Institute (GRAAHI) is a nonprofit organization involved with fighting racial and ethnic health care disparities in West Michigan. Robyn Afrik was selected as a member of the GRAAHI’s Advisory Council that was formed in February 2021.
In May 2021, the county began to spread DEI to municipalities. This will be explained in a subsequent article.